WOMEN WE LOVE Margeaux Simms

The out Love & Hip Hop: Atlanta star is firmly on our radar after she wowed the girls at The Dinah and released the single “Girl on the Left” featuring her model girlfriend, Merika.

PROFILE

BY MELANIE BARKER

ON WHY SHE QUIT REALITY TV:

It’s like 5 percent real. There’s a part that’s like your old life you’re re-enacting again, and people think that’s exactly who you are. I was there at the time of my exhusband but we were playing it as though we weren’t already divorced. Some people didn’t even know at the time that I had done music because they’re so attracted to all the other drama that is done just for ratings. My girlfriend Merika and I were already together when I was on Hip Hop: Atlanta but [producers] didn’t really show that till the end. That wasn’t enough drama for them. I also didn’t want it to be something that was exposed to be trashy, which is why I decided to leave. I didn’t feel like our relationship was going to be represented in the best way.

About Curve

The first ever LGBTQ Pride March took place in New York City on June 28, 1970, to commemorate the one-year anniversary of the Stonewall Uprising. In that inaugural year, it’s estimated that more than 2,000 people participated in the march. Last year, according to organizers, around 30,000 people marched in the NYC Pride Parade, and around 2 million spectators joined the marchers—a jump of half a million from the previous year. Clearly, people are still concerned about the future rights of the LGBTQ community.
For many of us, since last year’s U.S. presidential election, Pride has become protest. I’m not sure everyone likes that development. For many of us, Pride has always signified a season of joy and visibility, a time to literally feel proud of ourselves. But according to our recent CurveMag.com poll, this year’s Pride Parade will have more in common with the 1970 Pride March than any other.
Since New York is the birthplace of the modern Pride movement, I chatted with Eboni Munn, Communications Manager at NYC Pride, and asked her how she saw the city’s upcoming Pride event. Would the current political context affect any of the plans, procedures, and protocols for NYC Pride in June 2017?
“We recently announced the four grand marshals set to lead this year’s critical LGBT Pride demonstration: The ACLU, Brooke Guinan [FDNY], Krishna Stone [GMHC], and Geng Le [Blued],” she said. “The rally will also go back to its roots. We’re organizing community activists, politicians, and more in response to the current political climate. With this year’s NYC Pride March and Rally, we’re speaking to the social and political tensions brought on by the new administration,” confirmed Munn.
She also expects an exceptional response from participants and spectators. “We are experiencing an unprecedented moment in our history, and we’re expecting the LGBT community and our allies to make their voices heard in immense proportions.”